Having one of those days? Can’t get everything completed in the time frame that you have allotted for yourself?
Well, fear not, fellow Scouters, I am in the same boat. As you may or may not know, I am a Scoutmaster for Troop 1363, but I am also the Committee Chair for Pack 4363. I took over the latter, as a courtesy to the Pack, to help them out when the old CC resigned, due to time running short. She just had too much to do and too little time to do it.
Why? It’s only an hour a week, right? Well, no…it’s really not. Unless you are just someone that goes through the motions, and limps through the program. If that’s the case, really, do yourself a favor and resign your post now. Your Scouts deserve more than that.
Training…not only yours, but ensuring the rest of your Pack is trained. That can be daunting in itself. Personally, our pack does pretty well when it comes to getting trained. I keep on it, using the MyScouting.org site, along with Packmaster, which gives a nice matrix on who needs what.
Finances…we have been blessed to have had a great treasurer for the last 4 years, and from what I can tell, we have been blessed with someone who has stepped up to take on the role. It always makes me nervous, finances that is, to have a new leader in that role. We always read about embezzling from the Scouts, and with all things new, we sometimes have our doubts. But in this case, the media isn’t going to sway me, I am happy with our choice.
Program…leave those choices up to the Cubmaster. That’s why you hired him. He runs the program. Good, bad or otherwise. If you are fielding complaints about his program, then step in. But at a committee meeting, when everyone is clamoring to be heard, I just sit back and defer to my Cubmaster when it comes to program.
So, do I have this under control so there is no griping or complaining about what happens in the pack? Nope, sure don’t. What I do have is a group of parents that do what is asked of them, and any complaints or “you should do it this way” comments are met with “Great…what are you going to do to fix/rectify/change it to make it better? Put a plan together and bring it back to the next meeting so that we can discuss.” In a nutshell, put up or shut up…that’s my motto as CC.
I don’t want to sound like I am all big and bad, or the world’s largest a-hole, but I am the CEO of a company. Not in my regular job, but as CC of the pack, everything ultimately falls on me. It’s on me to delegate, to find event chairpersons, to make sure the bills are paid, to answer to the CO, to make the difficult decisions. I choose to have it that way. I want to be “that guy”…the jerk. The more that I can look like the bad guy, the easier it is on my frontline leaders.
If the burden and pressures are off them, they can focus on their jobs. If a family hasn’t paid their dues, and their names have to come off the camp roster, that should be me to handle…not the treasurer, not the CM…me, the CC.
As the title states, my time is short…not short enough to not blog, but short as in time as the Pack CC. May 31st, I am stepping down. There will be the comments of “sure you are” or “I have heard that before” but I am sticking to my guns on this one. I came into the CC role with the interim tag, and that tag will stay there, until 5.31.2013.
Point North, my friends…
